$27,000 raised for new park for kids with disabilities

Thursday

May 9, 2013 at 3:59 PMMay 10, 2013 at 7:30 AM

A Houma mother is making strides with her quest to ensure that all local children have an appropriate place to play.

Chance RyanStaff Writer

A Houma mother is making strides with her quest to ensure that all local children have an appropriate place to play.Inspired by similar playgrounds in other cities, Erica Lambert is working with Recreation District 2-3 to build Houma's first fully adaptable park. It will include playground equipment that all kids can use, including those with disabilities. The Recreation District was already planning to build a playground at Summerfield Park off Valhi Boulevard between the Bayou Land YMCA and St. Charles Street in Houma. This week, Lambert met with Recreation District and Parish Council members to present her proposal, which would add Americans with Disabilities Act approved play equipment to the upcoming park. Gary Beeson, Recreation District 2-3 president, said the playground "is going to get done"; however, more planning and money is needed.The goal is to raise $140,000 to build it, Lambert said. In the meantime, the playground can be built in phases as money becomes available. She and others have already raised about $27,000, more than half the amount needed for phase one. They need another $23,000, she said."The park is meant to suit everybody," Lambert said. "The kids who can do monkey bars and climb, they can do that, but there will still be plenty of stuff for children in wheelchairs."Lambert's sons, Carson, 6, and Braylon, 2, each have a rare gene disorder that can cause mental delays, low muscle tone and other physical ailments. Carson uses a gait trainer, a walker-like device, but he is restricted to a wheelchair most of the time. Playgrounds can be an important place for kids to interact with other children and spend time outdoors. Adaptive parks have the added benefit of exposing kids to others who may be different."Typical children need to be around handicapped children as much as handicapped kids need to be around typical kids," Lambert said. "They learn so much from each other, and this would be a place where they could all come together and play."Amanda Morgan of Houma has two sons and a daughter.Her daughter, Adeline, 7, has a rare genetic syndrome which renders her unable to speak. She's mobile, Morgan said, but she needs extra help. Morgan said having an adaptable park would allow all of her children to play together without Adeline feeling excluded. "The park will be a place of acceptance," Morgan said. "These children can reach goals that they are not able to reach in a typical park." The playground will be accessible to both wheelchairs and strollers. Ramps and other features will help kids navigate the park. Many of the pieces are focused on learning, such as a musical panel with built-in drums. There also will be play structures built to look like a fire truck, helicopter, tugboat and jet, organizers said. Lambert, a Shreveport native, said other cities have adaptive parks, and she wondered why Houma couldn't have something similar. Her curiosity led her to the Internet, where she learned about Play and Park structures, the company that's now working with her to design the park. Neither Lafourche nor Terrebonne has adaptive equipment on any of its playgrounds. If you want to help make the park a reality, visit the project's Facebook page, "Houma's 1st Adaptive Park."